You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them ontime (no later than Sunday, February 25 on or before 12:01am). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0. You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
Reflect on the following questions and answer them in some detail.
1. Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit this play? Why do you believe the dramatic action would be best served in this venue?
I believe the proscenium theatre is best suited for this play, because of the one main side the audience can see the stage. This play, in my opinion, is best viewed from the front because of scenes such as in the car, we can watch the car move around from left to right or back to front, and everyone is able to see it happen in a “3-D” perspective. A really nice background will be well suited, so it gives a more dimensional perspective for the audience sitting straight in front. I feel like the dramatic action is meant to be raw and original, and if everyone views it from the same distance, it does a much better job at delivering that action.
2. What are some of the design challenges posed by the play?
I think that going through the different events all in different time periods is a big design challenge. The play doesn’t go in chronological order, so to get all the scenes with all its set design and props done all mis-matched and out of order can be difficult if the production crew doesn’t have a clear plan and schedule to make everything go smoothly in transition. Another challenge is the car ride; obviously you can’t have a real car on stage, so having a car prop that still seems realistic and not cartoonish is something that the crew should keep in mind. It should be big enough that Lil Bit and Peck fit in it, but not that big that the audience can’t see what’s happening inside it.
3. Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play?
I don’t think the characters should wear bright colors; in general, this play has more of a realistic and somber tone to it because of the mature content involved, such as sexual abuse. The women should be more dressed than the men, because they are more like objects to the men who are pleasing to the eye rather than for their own personal enjoyment. The grandmother should be in more traditional clothing, along with the grandfather. I think for the time period the mom shouldn’t really wear “mom-like” clothing; she should wear something a young adult would wear because she doesn’t really act like a mother to Lil Bit. Peck and Lil bit can be dressed in contemporary clothing for their respective time periods. There should be no jewelry or excessively printed patterns, because they are not rich.
4. Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play?
Like in the earlier answer, nothing should really be that bright or excessive in the production. I believe lighting should be kept at a minimum, so that attention doesn’t go more to the set-up, but rather it goes to the analysis of the characters’ actions and the relationships between them through dialogue and their actions. I think white lighting, like the kind that makes you feel kind of cold and not really warm, should be used so it symbolizes the fact that the relationships in this play are not genuinely good ones; what Peck does is selfish, so the lighting should not indicate any warm or comforting lighting.
5. Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play.
I don’t think upbeat songs are suited to go along with this play. Maybe some minimal sound affects could work to tie into the production. Instrumental is the way to go, because something with lyrics is potentially distracting. Overall, music shouldn’t be that important because the audience should focus on the emotions and relationship of the characters that are delivered by their words and actions, not really songs.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
Reflect on the following questions and answer them in some detail.
1. Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit this play? Why do you believe the dramatic action would be best served in this venue?
I believe the proscenium theatre is best suited for this play, because of the one main side the audience can see the stage. This play, in my opinion, is best viewed from the front because of scenes such as in the car, we can watch the car move around from left to right or back to front, and everyone is able to see it happen in a “3-D” perspective. A really nice background will be well suited, so it gives a more dimensional perspective for the audience sitting straight in front. I feel like the dramatic action is meant to be raw and original, and if everyone views it from the same distance, it does a much better job at delivering that action.
2. What are some of the design challenges posed by the play?
I think that going through the different events all in different time periods is a big design challenge. The play doesn’t go in chronological order, so to get all the scenes with all its set design and props done all mis-matched and out of order can be difficult if the production crew doesn’t have a clear plan and schedule to make everything go smoothly in transition. Another challenge is the car ride; obviously you can’t have a real car on stage, so having a car prop that still seems realistic and not cartoonish is something that the crew should keep in mind. It should be big enough that Lil Bit and Peck fit in it, but not that big that the audience can’t see what’s happening inside it.
3. Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play?
I don’t think the characters should wear bright colors; in general, this play has more of a realistic and somber tone to it because of the mature content involved, such as sexual abuse. The women should be more dressed than the men, because they are more like objects to the men who are pleasing to the eye rather than for their own personal enjoyment. The grandmother should be in more traditional clothing, along with the grandfather. I think for the time period the mom shouldn’t really wear “mom-like” clothing; she should wear something a young adult would wear because she doesn’t really act like a mother to Lil Bit. Peck and Lil bit can be dressed in contemporary clothing for their respective time periods. There should be no jewelry or excessively printed patterns, because they are not rich.
4. Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play?
Like in the earlier answer, nothing should really be that bright or excessive in the production. I believe lighting should be kept at a minimum, so that attention doesn’t go more to the set-up, but rather it goes to the analysis of the characters’ actions and the relationships between them through dialogue and their actions. I think white lighting, like the kind that makes you feel kind of cold and not really warm, should be used so it symbolizes the fact that the relationships in this play are not genuinely good ones; what Peck does is selfish, so the lighting should not indicate any warm or comforting lighting.
5. Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play.
I don’t think upbeat songs are suited to go along with this play. Maybe some minimal sound affects could work to tie into the production. Instrumental is the way to go, because something with lyrics is potentially distracting. Overall, music shouldn’t be that important because the audience should focus on the emotions and relationship of the characters that are delivered by their words and actions, not really songs.